Ex-Supreme Court judges among those warning government of risk of international law breach after aid worker deaths

The UK government on Thursday came under increased pressure to end arms sales to Israel following the killing of seven aid workers in an air strike in Gaza earlier this week.

In a letter to prime minister Rishi Sunak, three former Supreme Court justices joined more than 600 jurists and dozens of Labour MPs in warning that the UK risks breaking international law over a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza if it does not stop its weapons exports to Israel. [...]

The main exports to Israel in 2022 and 2023 were parts for aircraft and military radar systems, according to CAAT, but the group said the UK arms licensing regime “lacks transparency” and that it was “impossible” to know the full value.

Britain also supplies around 15 per cent of the F-35 fighter aircraft, which is built in the US by Lockheed Martin and used by the Israeli military. CAAT estimates that given Britain’s share of the programme, the value of UK parts in the F-35s delivered to Israel has been worth “£336mn since 2016”. [...]

BAE Systems, which builds the rear fuselage section of the F-35 jets at its factory in Samlesbury in Lancashire, said it has “no operations or employees in Israel or Gaza, nor do we sell military equipment directly to Israel”. “We’re a partner on Lockheed Martin’s global F-35 programme, which includes Israel,” the company added.

The UK subsidiary of Italy’s Leonardo makes the “advanced targeting laser” for the F-35 at a site in Edinburgh. Leonardo UK declined to comment.

The UK subsidiary of Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems has also been a target of arms protesters for several years. It employs more than 600 people in Britain and is an established supplier to UK armed forces, including for the army’s Watchkeeper drone programme.

Elbit’s Israeli parent builds the Hermes 450 drone which was used during the strike that killed the aid workers, according to arms campaigners, who allege that the company’s UK subsidiary, UAV Engines, supplies the drone’s engines.

A UK spokesperson for the company said: “Elbit Systems UK, its subsidiaries and joint ventures, including UAV Engines Limited and U-Tacs, are not involved in the Hermes 450 programme.”